Governance by gaslight: The reproductive politics of the two-child limit

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Abstract / Description of output

In 2017, the UK government limited the number of children for a whom a low-income family could claim a means tested benefit (the 'child element' of 'Universal Credit') to two. Since then, over 400,000 families - including 1.5 million children - have been affected by the 'two-child limit'. Emerging research indicates that the limit has done little to influence fertility rates, nothing to influence workforce participation, and a great deal to increase financial hardship and poverty. Via a synthesis of existing research, and a critical analysis of formal policy dialogue, I explore the specifically reproductive politics of the two-child limit. I cast the limit as 'successful' reproductive governance, a 'technology of discipline' with complementary effects and rationales, which works by further marginalising intersectionally marginalised women. In concluding, I argue that the state justifies this abject outcome via what Elena Ruíz (2020) calls 'cultural gaslighting'.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberjxae011
Pages (from-to)455-479
Number of pages25
JournalSocial Politics
Volume31
Issue number3
Early online date16 Aug 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • two-child limit
  • welfare reform
  • reproductive governance
  • gaslighting

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